Saturday, 11 August 2007

This Friday's trip to the Huntingdonshire Business Network was on a gloriously sunny day. Met up with Richard Wishart, Delivery Management for discussions over teas at Costa Coffee, with other HBNers dropping in for chats too.

At 3:30pm wandered around Huntingdon with camera, exploiting the fantastic lighting conditions. Caused consternation at the Market Inn when photographing the calligraphic sculptures there and ended up talking to two Stephen's on photography, pixel resolution, ccds and the benefits of film over digital. Then continued to river for more photos. Of the 60 or more pictures, 20 were OK for a web album . Of these only a few are noteworthy - which do you think?

Monday, 6 August 2007

As curious as no doubt you are about the current Foot and Mouth epidemic, I spent an hour searching for information on the subject on the web (information research and summary is one of my activities) and thought, why not share the info!

A private company, Merial (http://www.merial.com/ ) active in animal health also has a presence on the site and was producing the same kind of virus strain a few weeks before the outbreak.

Foot and mouth virus has to be worked on under high containment – for animals it is a category 4 animal pathogen. Work on such viruses is most likely to be conducted in a category 4 laboratory for animal pathogens (http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/pathogens/category4.htm ) which has stringent controls. these include working under negative pressure, extensive filtration of air leaving the laboratory and full treatment of waste before it even leaves a lab.

Sources quoted here indicate that most infection is by close proximity to existing infected animals, however, Foot and mouth disease virus can be spread through the air but this requires a high count of virus particles to cause infection - this has been the focus of scientific research. One accessible paper on the internet is by A.I. Donaldson & S. Alexandersen (2002 http://bvs.panaftosa.org.br/textoc/DonaldsonPredicting2002.pdf ).

They quote that 100 infected cattle could produce a plume of virus which would infect other cattle at up to 1km overland. Where large numbers of animals are producing airborne virus such as in the middle of large epidemic as in the 1967 outbreak, the distances can be from 6 to 90km.

By the end of today (06/08/07) waterborne virus transmission was also being considered due to flooding in the area of the infected farm. As all effluent from Category 4 laboratories has to be treated before release, the theory requires a significant breakdown in biosecurity caused by flooding.

The third route of virus escape and transmission would be by human error - inadequate cleaning, clothes changing etc of an individual working at either of the establishments and that individual somehow coming into contact with the cattle several miles away.

Note that the existing control measures being implemented aim to catch the disease very early before spread by proximity occurs or sufficient sick animals develop symptoms and shed quantities of virus that could spread and be infectious by air (http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/fmd/about/qanda.htm#16 ). Culling and incineration destroy source and virus effectively.

What about vaccination? It is an option being considered. Note that apparently vaccination is effective for only a few months and that vaccinated animals that are not completely protected could still be a source of the virus without showing symptoms (see vaccination section at http://www.vet.uga.edu/VPP/gray_book02/fad/fmd.php )

This information has been derived from publicly accessible material as a short exercise to demonstrate my capabilities and is for information only. If you need to check the accuracy of the information – please contact the sources – Defra is a good place to start.

With such a serious issue of national significance please understand that I cannot take responsibility for actions based on the information that I have given here, again - go to the relevant authority in your country for best guidance and practice.